Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target Raised to $450.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $400.00 to $450.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the software giant’s stock.

MSFT has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $397.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $405.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).